The company, however, didn’t provide many details on how it reached its decision. It also revealed the news late on Friday when many reporters had already begun their weekends off.

The publisher, an imprint of Bertelsmann SE & Co.’s Random House Inc., said in a statement, “After careful consideration, Ballantine Books has made the difficult decision to cancel the publication of “Paula Deen’s New Testament: 250 Favorite Recipes, All Lightened Up.”"

The title’s Amazon page had said that “healthier meals” were the focus of the book. “When beloved author, TV star, and chef Paula Deen was diagnosed with diabetes, she thought it might be a curse, but it turned out to be a blessing,” the page read. “Now she’s back with a brand-new cookbook featuring fresh twists on her treasured recipes for anyone who wants to lose weight, control blood sugar, lower high cholesterol, or just serve healthier meals to their families.”

Given all the media attention swirling around Deen’s past use of the “n-word,” it’s difficult to see how, had Ballantine released the title, the book’s stated message would have gotten much of a hearing.

As of Friday afternoon the book, which was available for pre-order, ranked No. 1 on Amazon.com. By Friday evening, the title had been almost completely scrubbed from Amazon’s site. Clicking on the title yielded the message “Looking for something? We’re sorry. The Web address you entered is not a functioning page on our site.”

Deen is currently embroiled in a discrimination lawsuit along with her brother Bubba Heirs. The two are being sued by a former employee. In a deposition for that lawsuit, Deen admitted to using a racial slur in the past, which sparked the current controversy.

Last Friday, the Food Network was the first major company to announce its separation from the chef saying, “Food Network will not renew Paula Deen’s contract when it expires at the end of this month.” Deen’s television contract expires at the end of June, signaling the end of her 11-year relationship with the company.